


A Kit's Blood

by Idhren15



Series: The Blood You Hate [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt, Fantastic Racism, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt No Comfort, I'm Sorry Keith, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Mild Blood, Transformation, allura is especially horrible, canon divergent after season 1, keith finds out he's galra earlier than in canon, the other paladins aren't accepting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-10-25 20:50:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17732438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idhren15/pseuds/Idhren15
Summary: When Keith is hit by a druid's blast, he thinks that purple is a peculiar burn colour, but doesn't dwell on it.Until the purple starts spreading.And he realises he's not as human as he first thought.As much as he wishes his team would stick by him through anything, he knows that this will tear them apart.He's the enemy now. They will hate him.It's just another cold hard truth he has to accept.AU where Keith isn't healed from the druid's blast, and the transformation sets in. Prequel to A Kit's Cry.





	1. Red

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote A Kit's Cry on a whim, but more was requested, so here you go!  
> This will probably be two parts, maybe three. Not sure. 
> 
> I'll update when I can :)

The druid's blast burned his hand, turning it a peculiar colour, and Keith dimly recalled that burns were supposed to be reddish, not purple. He couldn't focus too much on the weird injury, though. He had to get out of there.

But something was tightening in his chest, nausea rising up, and _no no no_ he couldn't be weak in this moment, he had to get up, had to _fight..._

"Keith!" Someone ran over to him- Pidge, it was Pidge- and helped him to his feet, looking at his hand in concern.

"The...druid..." he croaked.

"The others are taking care of it. We've got to get you back to the castle," the green paladin commanded, and Keith clutched his hand to his chest, ignoring the pain surging through it.

"That looks _really_ bad," she added as he staggered away.

" 'S not too bad," he slurred, "no pod?"

"Keith, it would be better-"

" _No pod_ ," he said again, putting more emphasis on each syllable. He hated the pods, the vulnerability, the fact that he could be frozen and ejected like Sendak and be none the wiser...

"Okay, you stubborn mule," Pidge grumbled, helping him into the Green Lion. Once Keith was seated, she ran into the cockpit and wasted no more time in getting them out of there.

Keith didn't pay attention to anything else said, his sole focus on the purple burn.

_It's just weird because it was druid magic,_ he told himself, but the doubts had already planted their roots.

 

He collapsed soon after their return to the castle, barely making it to his room before succumbing to exhaustion. He made sure to lock the door, refusing to let anyone see how much he was _hurting._ The paladin armour he removed as quickly as he could, wincing at the damage to the gauntlet, then stared at his hand and gasped.

The burn had spread up his arm, purple tendrils creeping up towards his elbow.

_Quiznak._

It was worse than he'd thought.

Nausea surged through him, and he barely made it to the toilet before emptying the contents of his stomach.

"It's fine," he muttered, once the bile was out of his throat, "It's nothing bad." He just needed some of that magic altean cream, that would fix him right up.

He was far too tired, though, so he made a mental note to sneak into the medbay once he'd rested. A little sleep might help, anyway.

 

It didn't help.

When he woke up, his skin was itching as if a thousand ants were crawling all over him, and the purple encompassed almost his entire arm. Even worse, his previously-unblemished hand now had traces of purple on its palm, too.

This- virus, disease, whatever its name- was spreading.

Keith reached for the panel to unlock his door, but paused, some deep instinct telling him that he should probably look in a mirror first. He obeyed, and barely stifled a scream.

Tendrils of purple crept up his neck, but that wasn't the worst of it. No, in the night his ears had _shifted_. Gone were the pale, rounded appendages on the side of his head, instead replaced with large, purple, feline _things_ sticking out on the top of his head. The gaps where his ears used to be were filled with light purple fuzz, that trailed up to the base of the new ears. As he stared at his reflection, Keith realised what it reminded him of.

_Galra._

He was turning into a galra.

But how was that possible? Did the druid's energy have the ability to modify DNA? The alteans had never mentioned that before.

Unless...

Unless his DNA wasn't being completely modified.

Unless he wasn't fully human in the first place.

Keith backed out of the bathroom, his vision swimming. Sure, he never knew his mother, and they lived in an isolated desert shack, and he had a knife with a strange marking, but that didn't mean that he was _galra_ , did it?

 

A knock on his bedroom door snapped him out of his meltdown. "Keith?"

It was Shiro, his voice tighter than normal, and Keith suddenly remembered that he wasn't the only one suffering after their last battle. Allura was captured.

How had he been so selfish to forget that?

"Keith, we need you on the bridge. Are you alright?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah, I just, slept in. Sorry," Keith called out, stumbling over to his wardrobe. He didn't own much clothing, but his usual jacket and fingerless gloves would do nothing to hide his situation. Thankfully, he'd requested a red and white hoodie when Coran had added to their clothing collections, and he slipped that on now, pulling up the hood so it covered his strange new ears. The shape of them was still slightly visible through the hood, so he concentrated on making them _flat._ It was weird, feeling his ears twitch and move, but thankfully they obeyed. He then pulled on some full gloves, tugging his sleeves so that no skin on his arms was exposed, before finally opening the door. Shiro was waiting there, and frowned slightly at Keith's different clothing.

"Did something happen to your jacket?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah," Keith lied, his fists clenching as a sudden pain sparked in his fingernails, and that was the end of the conversation.

Once on the bridge, only Lance picked up on his clothing change, making some stupid comment about 'mullet finally hiding his mullet', but the mood quickly sobered as they debated over what to do about Allura. Keith didn't contribute to the discussion, locking his jaw shut as his canine teeth decided to start aching. He didn't need a degree in galran dentistry to know what was happen, and he also knew that he _couldn't_ let his team see the fangs he was certain were forming.

Something fell on his tongue, accompanied by the familiar taste of blood, and he grimaced. Yeah. He'd lost his canine.

Another faint plop, and more blood. Two canines, then.

The team were dismissed to go suit up, and Keith barely managed to keep his mouth shut, his throat filling up with blood, promptly gagging as soon as he could duck into a bathroom. His canines fell into the sink with a sickening _chinking_ noise- four, he noted, two top and two bottom- and there was so much _blood_ in his mouth, it made him sick. Gingerly he poked the gaps in his gums, wincing as something sharp pricked his finger.

"Oh," he breathed, almost hysterically. The fangs were coming through _already_.

One glance at his finger confirmed the other source of pain- he now had _claws_.

_Quiznak._

"Keith? Is it you in there?" Pidge called out, and he swore as he realised that he was in _Pidge's bathroom._

"Yes, sorry," he answered, though with his missing teeth it sounded more like 'yeth, thorry'. He pocketed the four human canines, as disgusting as they were, and quickly rinsed the blood down the drain before pulling his hood back up again.

"You okay?" the green paladin asked as he tried to slip away.

"Mmm," he nodded, "Had to go. Thorry."

"In my bathroom?" he heard Pidge grumble as he broke into a run, headed to grab his armour. The ache in his gums intensified, coupled with the itch spreading to his legs, but he couldn't focus on that now, couldn't focus on what was happening to him.

They had to rescue Allura. That was all that mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's just dealing with the start of the transformation, I know it's been done before, but bear with. Needed that to set the tone of the story.  
> Next chapter should deal with much more angst >:D 
> 
> Thanks for reading! ^-^


	2. Purple

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally an update! Sorry for the delay, I have way too many projects ongoing >.<
> 
> Anyway, this is now going to be 3 parts, the third of which I should (hopefully) have up relatively soon.

"You fight like a galra," Zarkon jeered, and Keith actually _growled_ at him in response. His blood was pounding in his ears, body and mind succumbing to the overwhelming urge to _fight_ , to _destroy,_ he _had_ to take down Zarkon, it was _victory or death...!_

The others would be trying to stop him, he knew it, but he'd muted the comms, because this was something they wouldn't understand. He _had_ to fight, he _had_ to win, it was in his blood and he-

Oh, quiznak. He was _thinking_ like a galra now.

Keith froze, and Zarkon landed a hit, rendering his lion almost useless. He cried out in pain as electricity shot through his body, tingling and burning against his skin- his skin, which was now _purple_ in the dim lights-

He could hear his team coming, felt the Black Lion scoop up Red, but he didn't want them to pick him up. Not when he was turning into a monster.

 _No,_ Red rumbled, _Mine._

"I'm not," he whispered, "Red, I'm sorry, I'm not. I made a mistake, I hurt you, I..."

Keith couldn't finish, the lump in his throat restricting his breathing, and he buried his head in his hands, failing to stifle his sobs. His eyes burned, that was what was causing the tears trickling down his cheeks. Nothing else.

Red purred, trying to soothe him, but he pushed her away, because he didn't _deserve_ her.

He didn't deserve any of them.

 

Dimly he realised they were back on the castle, and he pulled off his helmet, his new ears remaining flat to his head as a chorus of voices assaulted him.

"-open up!"

"You stupid mullet! Answer us!"

"Keith! Keith, are you hurt?"

 _Friends,_ Red commented.

"No!" Keith exclaimed, "No, Red, don't-"

But it was too late. The voices stopped, Red letting the paladins in, and Keith instinctively shrank down in the corner, his back pressed against Red's console, curling in on himself as much as the armour allowed. His ears flickered but kept themselves relatively flat, and a small whine escaped his mouth, the noise so animalistic that it scared Keith.

"Keith!"

He squeezed his eyes shut. _No, not Shiro, anyone but Shiro..._

The black paladin's footsteps faltered, and a low growl escaped his mouth. The distinctive tone of Shiro's prosthesis activating echoed around the cockpit, and suddenly a hand was at Keith's throat, hauling him up and pressing him against the wall. Keith gasped and struggled against it, eyes flying open in shock to meet cold grey.

"Shi...ro..." he wheezed, "Please..."

Shiro's glowing hand angled itself at his face, and Keith whined at the sheer heat of it. His heartbeat accelerated, fear pulsing through his aching body, and a single tear slipped down his cheek as he closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

He was galra, and Shiro was going to kill him. At least he couldn't hurt them if he was dead.

"Shiro! Is that... Keith?" Pidge exclaimed- at least, he thought it was Pidge. His ears were ringing, black spots dancing before his eyes, and he knew he didn't have long left.

_Just get it over with._

But the hand was gone from his neck then, and he was flying, slamming against the floor with a pained whimper, gasping in air.

"That's not Keith," Shiro hissed. Keith opened his eyes again to see Shiro stomping over to him, and he curled up again, bracing himself for the inevitable attack. More tears fell, his whole body shaking with terror.

"Sorry," he gasped out, "Shiro, I'm sorry..."

"What have you done with Keith?" he roared, slicing towards Keith's neck with the glowing prosthetic, stopping it mere centimetres from the skin.

"I... I am Keith," he whimpered, and someone else inhaled sharply.

"Keith is _galra_?" Lance exclaimed.

"How did you manage to infiltrate us?" Allura yelled, suddenly stood behind Shiro, "How did you trick the Red Lion? _How?_ "

"I don't know," Keith cried, "I... Just let me leave, _please_ , I won't bother you again, I-"

"No." Allura locked eyes with Shiro, and the black paladin removed his hand. The altean princess then grabbed Keith's face, tilting his head so he was forced to meet his eyes.

"I trusted you, Keith," she hissed, "We _all_ trusted you. And you betrayed us."

Keith tried to shake his head, but her grip was too wrong. _No, I didn't know, I promise you I didn't-_

"Strip," she commanded, letting him go. Keith hesitated, but one look at the hatred in her eyes crumbled the rest of his resolve, taking his fighting spirit with it. He stood shakily and removed his armour, letting each piece fall on the ground in front of Allura.

"The rest of it," she said harshly, and at that Keith stiffened, shaking his head. The only clothing he had on underneath the suit were his boxers, and he was _not_ going to strip down to them.

"Listen," she hissed, taking a step forward, "I am doing you a favour even sparing your life. But that can change in an instant. Take off the rest of my father's armour, you _galra scum_ ," she spat, and Keith's eyes pricked with fresh tears.

But he didn't have time to respond, as a sudden pain ripped through his spine, his vision flashed white, and then he saw nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if anyone's a little OoC. Shiro's actions _will_ be explained next chapter. 
> 
> Also, I'm disregarding the whole wormhole malfunction for this fic, incase you wondered. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments/kudos are quintessence XD


	3. Black

Keith slowly drifted back to consciousness, his ears ringing, vision blurry. He had to move, it wasn't safe here, but why?

Groaning, he managed to turn his head towards the direction of the raised voices, struggling to identify them.

"We can't keep him here like this!"

"We can't exactly let him go either, he knows too much!"

 _Shiro and Allura_ , he recognised, and the last events flew back to him. Shiro's hand around his throat, the hatred in Allura's eyes...

A small whine escaped him, and the two froze, turning to look at him. He shifted uncomfortably under their gaze, suddenly aware that he was dressed in a plain t-shirt and black trousers, which meant that someone had changed him when he was unconscious. That thought alone made him shudder, and accompanied by their burning glares, it was too much.

Keith was strong. He never cried, never showed signs of weakness, because he knew the consequences if he did.

But bleary-eyed, exhausted, and on the receiving end of his once-friends' fury, he crumpled.

Tears streamed forth, trailing his cheeks and landing in his hands- _his clawed, purple, monstrous hands_ \- and he curled up, suddenly aware of a soft thing brushing against his leg. Vision blurred, he risked a peak and nearly screamed.

A tail. He had a quiznaking tail.

If there was any remaining hope that he _wasn't_ a monster... Well, it was all gone now.

"M'sorry," he cried, "sorry, sorry, sorry" repeating that word over and over because he didn't want to be a monster but he understood why they'd hate him now and he didn't want to hurt them, if he did he was sorry...

 

Shiro looked down at the sobbing galra formed from his brother's body, and something within him broke.

 _Quiznak_. What was he _doing?_ That wasn't a galra sent by the Empire, it was _Keith._

Keith looked more frightened than Shiro could ever be, and he was suddenly reminded of the scared foster kid who'd stolen his car.

Without thinking, Shiro knelt down and wrapped his arms around the galra- _Keith_ , he corrected himself - feeling the small body freeze at the contact, then relax into the touch.

"Sh-shiro," Keith cried, his new ears flat against his head, the tail, whose emergence had caused him to pass out from the pain, flicking in a manner that reminded Shiro of an agitated cat.

"Keith," he murmured, "I'm sorry for what I did. I don't hate you, I was blinded by..." Shiro swallowed, unable to say _by my hatred of the galra_.

"Don't blame you," Keith mumbled in response, starting to come back to himself. He gently pushed Shiro away, roughly wiping his face, then froze as he stared at the purple skin on his hand.

"This doesn't change things," Allura snapped, "Keith or not, he's galra. The enemy. And like I said, we can't let him leave, he knows far too much about this castle, about Voltron..."

Shiro stood and gently nudged Keith behind him. "Then let him stay."

"He cannot be allowed to walk free, or pilot the Red Lion."

 

Keith's heart stuttered at those words, then proceeded to shatter even further. He'd expected it, of course, but there had still been a part of him that _hoped, maybe_ , his team would see something other than the monster he was.

Hope was foolish, and its absence only brought him more pain.

"You can't keep him prisoner!" Shiro was defending him, and he forced himself to his feet, using the ache in his chest to keep him alert.

"Shiro, stop," he whispered, tugging gently on Shiro's human arm, "The princess is right."

Allura's eyes gleamed darkly in the low light, and Shiro tensed up, turning round to face him.

"Keith, is that what you really want?"

_What I want is for you to accept me, but that's impossible, and I don't deserve it. This isn't about what I want. It's about what I deserve. I'm a monster, I should be treated as such._

"I don't want to leave," he replied, his voice shaking, "I-I'll stay here, I'll be your prisoner, I..." he swallowed, _I deserve it_ lingering on his tongue but unspoken, though from the look on Allura's face she knew it.

"Very well," the princess said, her tone final.

 

The paladins and alteans took a long time to decide his fate, or at least it seemed that to Keith. He was left in a small cell, his hands cuffed together, a third cuff wrapped around his ankle with a chain that fixed it to the wall.

_Like an animal. I'm chained like an animal._

Anger flared up within him, but he suppressed it with the thought of _but I deserve this, I'm worse than an animal, I'm part of the race that murdered the alteans and tortured Shiro and took Pidge's family..._

He tried to pace the cell, but he was so tired, and his new tail was tickling his legs with each step, seemingly having a mind of its own. It was a constant reminder of what he truly was, and he hated it.

Footsteps sounded, and Keith raised his head, instinctively backing into a corner as Allura appeared with Shiro and Coran. The princess clicked her fingers, and the chain connecting his ankle to the wall detached from the ankle cuff.

"Come on," she commanded, and Keith obeyed, as it was all he could do. Running from them now simply wasn't an option, and he didn't want to, anyway.

He wanted to stay, even if they hated him.

To his surprise, they led him to his room, but his gut clenched as he noticed the length of sturdy chain coming out from the wall. Coran strode forward and nimbly attached the chain to the cuff on Keith's ankle, his eyes unreadable as he stepped back to stand beside Shiro. Keith swallowed, hands trembling in their bonds, refusing to look at the chain.

Allura moved forwards, her expression frosty. "It has been decided that you may stay in your room, but you are not to leave it. Meals will be delivered at regular intervals. You can walk to reach the bathroom, but no further. You are not to attempt escape, or attack anyone on this ship; if you do I will not hesitate to throw you into a proper cell. Do you understand?"

Keith nodded slowly.

Her eyes narrowed. "I said, do you understand?"

"Yes, Princess," he responded, barely above a whisper. Seemingly satisfied, Allura spun on her heel and exited the room, ice seeming to cloud the air behind her. Coran, still uncharacteristically expressionless, released the cuffs from Keith's wrists and stepped back, as if afraid- which, Keith thought, he quite possibly was. _After all, they know I'm a monster now._

Shiro was last to leave, his grey eyes clouding, mouth opening as if to say something- but then he turned and left, leaving Keith to stare at his back before the door shut and locked, separating Keith from the only person who never gave up on him.

And now it looked like he had.

"Shiro," Keith called out, but it was more of a whimper, an animalistic tone distorting the name of his friend- _no, ex-friend, he won't bother with me now he sees how broken and worthless and wrong I truly am._

He sank to the floor, the rattling chain finalising his captivity, and sobbed as the last pieces of his heart finally broke.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Yeah I loaded on the angst and hurt.  
> Sorry. ;-;
> 
> But don't worry, Keith will get a happy ~~(ish)~~ ending, in 'A Kit's Blade', which is currently in progress. 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! ^-^ comments are most welcome!


End file.
